Another place
by Katianna
Summary: Life from a different Perspective. But is all as it seems? *complete* please read and review
1. Prologue

Another Place

Katianna

"Yesterday, something special happened. And well I had a script to read you, but it wasn't that good, so I decided I was going to tell you about this thing that happened. And here I am, with no script, no plan. Nadda. And I have no idea what I'm doing. OK? So I'll get on with it.

"Three months ago, my second in command fell ill with a virus of unknown origins. Once it was determined that it wasn't contagious my second in command, assuring me it wouldn't affect her performance in any way, continued with her duties. A week after this virus was discovered in my second in command, the bases doctor told my second in command that she had barely three weeks to live." There were gasps of sympathy from in the crowd and the Colonel nodded his thanks. "As you might expect, my team and I were devastated, and so was just about anyone who knew her at all. My second in command was simply annoyed. It would be four weeks before the engineers could ship out the part she needed for her motorbike. She wasn't going to be around to see it finally run. And she had just finished planning a lecture she had been asked to give at the academy, something she had enjoyed in the past and was looking forward to. The lecture wasn't scheduled until the next month. She would miss that too.

"Spending many hours consulting with her doctors, she found that for the fist two weeks, as long as she remained under strict medication, she could continue on missions as normal. The second week, she was warned, would be difficult and painful, but she was decided. She would work as long as she could in the job that she enjoyed and had always been perfect at. Being my second in command.

"Those two weeks were some of the best my team have ever spent together. Those were the weeks I will remember forever, not because anything particularly exciting or interesting happened. I know for a fact that our CO picked those missions for us because he knew they would be uneventful, for her sake. But in those two weeks I learned more about the woman I had served with than - in truth - I had ever wanted to know. We talked about all kinds of meaningless things in those two weeks. And when we reached the second week and it was becoming increasingly more obvious that she was finding it difficult to walk or to make grand gestures with her arms as she was prone to doing without thinking; we talked about death and the things she would miss about this world and the things she looked forward to in the next.

"When on the last day of her permitted duty she tripped and fell and was unable to get back up, my second in command cried. Not tears of pain or fear of what was to come. But tears of shame for letting us down.

"My second in command refused to go into hospital for that last week, and she didn't go home to see her family and say her last goodbyes - or at least have family come and visit her, because she really wasn't in any fit state to travel. My second in command sat in her lab and finished a book she had wanted to write since she first had the knowledge to write it. Something to allow others to have that knowledge and use it as they saw fit.

"When on that last day I gasping for breath on her lab floor, I couldn't help but worry about what was to come. Was I strong enough to do my second in command justice? To carry on without her? She was in a coma when we reached the infirmary and even though her breathing was easier we were told that she didn't have much time.

"But this story does not have a sad ending." A ripple of confusion flooded the crowd momentarily until they were hushed into silence again by those waiting for the rest of the story.

"Yesterday morning, almost two months since that day, my second in command woke from that coma to face the new day. Last night she spoke her first words, predictably apologising for something she couldn't control. And today she gripped my hand in her own.

"Major Samantha Carter will never walk again, or so her doctor tells us. The damage done by the virus is considerable. But Sam Carter did not die two months ago and so hope still lives.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. There is no moral to this story. No inner hidden meaning. Something special happened to me yesterday and I just had to share it with you. Thank you." And with that, Colonel Jack O'Neill stepped down from the podium to a huge applause. He smiled at Daniel as he walked away.

"You know she's going to kill you for that." He muttered as they headed to the car.

"She'll have to catch me first." He muttered back.

"Most of those people out there don't have a clue who she is."

"Then she won't be quite as annoyed about me telling them her story."

"You sure?"

"I'm really hoping, Daniel. Otherwise I'm in real trouble."

"So what next?"

"I suppose we see what people think."

"Are you going to tell Sam what you just did?"

"No, I don't think so. I'll wait until she's at least out of bed. Give her a sporting chance." Daniel grinned at him over the bonnet of the car.

"What are we going to do next, Jack? Without Sam on SG1?"

"Well, I guess we wait and see. What do you say?"

"Sam's so going to kill you."

"Yeah, I got that."

It has been said that death is not the end, merely the beginning. There was no death today, so think of this as your prologue. The beginning is yet to come, but the middle may come sooner. And always remember two things. Sorry is the tall men who plays hide and seek in a field and feeding an author can quite often give better fic.

To Be Continued

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the author. 


	2. Chapter 1

Unbeta'd. All mistakes my own. Tell me what you think. Feedback = more chapters.

Chapter 1

Jack looked down at the woman who shared his bed. She'd changed in the last two years. It was strange to think it had been that long. It wasn't surprising that she'd changed though, what she'd been through. Her whole life had changed. She'd let her hair grow long and it was caught in a tight plait to keep it tidy during the night. No beating that military upbringing. Small wisps had escaped through the night and curled around her forehead, begging for escape for their restraint. Hey eyes were still red and swollen from crying the night before, but now she lay peacefully at rest.

Her body had changed over the last few years, adapting to the new limitations put on it. Her shoulders and arms had strengthened, becoming thick with muscle. More than capable than winning that arm wresting match she'd one challenged him to. But beneath the sheets, her legs were becoming pitifully thin. It was a matter of constant disgust to her, and something he often used to tease her with.

Her eyes flickered open as she rolled towards him. A night of rest had not dulled the turmoil in her eyes and tears brimmed as she studied his face.

"I I have work today, Jack." She whispered, her voice breaking painfully.

"Not yet." He gestured to the watch he was wearing. It proclaimed the time as 3:00am. She gave him a weak smile.

"Maybe not quite yet." She closed her eyes again as if sleeping. When she opened them again her emotions were gathered and closed away. Hidden from view. She hadn't had to hide her feelings from him for a long time, but he understood now. These feelings were too much for her. She wasn't used to such emotion. She would deal with it slowly. In her own time. "Let's go out." She announced suddenly.

"What, now?"

"Well, maybe after we get dressed." The smile was real this time, almost reaching her eyes. Closer to the earth-shattering grin he was used to.

"Sure."

It struck him as funny, as he stood in her hall, how much he'd settled down here, in her house. It was always his plan that, when they finally got together - which they always knew they would - they would move into his house. It seemed the sensible thing to do. His house was bigger, and all of his stuff was there. And there was no doubt that he had more stuff than Sam, she had good as lived on the base, only coming home occasionally for a clean set of clothes. But once she'd been allowed out of the hospital it seemed obvious that the place she'd go was home. It was a bungalow, so all on one floor and the rooms in the basement were mostly unused anyway. It was her home. When they'd started living together he had wanted her to move in with him, but she'd been quick to point out that, although the steps between the rooms made his house stylishly modern, it made accessibility a nightmare. He'd promised to get ramps installed at some point so they could move into the bigger house, but it had never happened. Jack's things had migrated from one house to the other and now there were signs of his inhabitancy on every surface. And in the end it looked like the spare room would not be necessary, much to Sam's grief.

His eye was caught by a multicoloured message on the note pad in Sam's hand. 'February 15th 2005, 2:30 - gynecologist' The multicoloured writing was a clear sign of how nervous she had been about the appointment. Things often became multicoloured when she was nervous - it was a habit that made him smile. He knew her so well. He pulled the page from the pad and stared at it for a moment, thinking of its significance, of its impact on their future. Of what he would miss. He smiled at the thought of Sam pregnant. If she had ever been as temperamental as Sara had been while she was carrying Charlie, no one would have survived.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He jumped as he realised Sam was sat in front of him ready to go.

"They're not worth that much." He offered the usual response, knowing that Sam would not need to know that he was mooning over the thought of the child they would never have together. "So, where are we going exactly?" He said, throwing away the small slip of paper.

"I don't know. Around the block would do. I just need to get out of the house." Jack nodded amiably and stepped out of the door so that Sam could have room to manoeuvre the bulky wheelchair over the ramp on the front door step. The morning was foggy and the white mist clung to the sides of the houses as they moved through the small community that Sam lived in. A lonely man walking his dog greeted them as he passed, commenting on the fog and the next day's weather. They ended up sitting in the local play-park, surrounded by memories of youth and childhood. They both sat silently for a while, totally immersed in their own thoughts.

"I'm so sorry Jack... I... This isn't the way things are supposed to happen. This isn't..." The tears returned to his eyes as she struggled to find the words.

"God, I'm sorry Sam. We shouldn't have come here." He reached a hand around her back, pulling her forward as he comforted her. "I want you to understand, Sam. It doesn't matter to me. I've had my chance with Charlie. It's just... This shouldn't have happened to you. You've given up so much for the program, you should have had to give up this too. It's wrong. And I'm sorry, but you can't think that this will change us. I love you Sam. You know that, right?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime. Now lets go home before we freeze to death."

"I think Jack's more upset about it than he's letting on. But we're OK. And life goes on, y'know." Janet pulled her friend into a hug.

"You'll get over this. Jack will always be there for you and so will we. Everyone misses you downstairs. It looks like the new security system is getting good use. It's already saved some lives. I think there's a few people that want to thank you for it." Janet's expression changed, becoming slightly devilish. "On the other hand there are those who have lost money from betting on how smart your kid was going to be and how quickly it would save the world." They both laughed, enjoying the chance to get rid of some of the tension. "We love you Sam, you have to know that. And no matter what the big people on the red telephone say, you are still a part of this family."

The 'people on the red telephone' had had a lot to say about Sam's request to re-join the SGC after her illness. The first had been 'hahaha'. Which was followed by 'no way, no how'. They were worried about safety issues they said, she was easy to over-power if someone wanted to get their hands on information and difficult to evacuate in an emergency. When she had pointed out that she already had enough information to bring the SGC down if anyone was bothered enough to try it the 'big people' had started panicking, realising that that was true for many other people. Eventually that had met a compromise. Sam had been allowed to work on the project, but not in the complex. She was sent projects and worked on them in the confines of a make-shift lab at 'an undisclosed location' that only she and a few choice people in the SGC knew about. They had wanted to ship her out to Area 51 where she could work in a better lab, but it was pointed out that whenever she went anywhere near the place, the scientists there started making subconscious grabbing motions towards 'the ex-goa'uld host'.

All of her friends had fought against not having her on the base. They knew that it was unlikely that she would be close enough to evacuate to the Beta site in the case of an evacuation of earth, but Sam had been happy just knowing that she was once again working to help and protect her friends at the SGC.

She and Janet had met up as often as possible since she had left her position in SG1 to keep her informed about the goings on in the mountain. That way she could request time with any of the things that were brought through before they could be shipped off to Area 51. This meant that her discoveries could be put to use ASAP in the base and saved time for the General - of which he was very grateful.

During the last two years that she'd been working for the base in this way she had got the gate dialling as fast as it would if they had a DHD and running at twice the efficiency it had previously. The made the politicians and the General very happy.

Finding out that she couldn't have children was a blow to Sam and it was very unfair. Janet only hoped that Jack could keep her together. She'd come so close to falling apart completely before. They might not be so lucky a second time.

Waving to the airman who had dropped her off, Sam made her way into the house. A small note was propped up on the table, stating simply, in Jack's untidy scrawl, 'Meet me at the park'. Her curiosity piqued, Sam made her way down to the park where they'd spent the morning. Jack was sat on the swing, his back to her. He was waving his hand as though acting, and was talking to himself. He looked for all the world like a little kid, practicing the lines for some upcoming play.

Closing the gate more loudly than it needed, Sam alerted him to her presence. His eyes were bright as he turned to face her, his cheeks red. He relinquished his seat to a young girl and walked over to her, meeting her on the edge of the park.

When they reached each other, he stopped Sam with a wave of his hand and knelt before her, taking out a tiny blue velvet box from his coat pocket. He looked up into her steely blue eyes with his chocolate brown ones and smiled.

'I've been practicing this for the last two hours and I still don't know what to say.' Brown eyes whispered.

'You can do it.' Blue ones smiled.

"Sam, will you marry me?"

"Yes, Jack. I'd love to marry you." A gold band slipped onto a delicate finger. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear as they held each other.

"I love you Sam." He responded. And with those simple words...

The world went black, pain flared, their bodies were engulfed in flames and ice, needles pressing in flesh, they were squeezed until they cried out and finally the nothingness of a vacuum. They passed out clinging tightly to each other, as though their lives depended on it. 

When they awoke they were on the floor in a dark room, still clinging together tightly.

"Where the hell are we? And what the hell just happened?" Jack was the first to speak.

"Whatever that was it hurt. My head feels like it's going to explode."

"Think we were attacked? Kidnapped or something?"

"It makes sense. They could have had better timing though. I mean, I just got engaged..." Jack shifted so that he was upright.

"Yeah." Even without being able to see his face she knew he was grinning widely. "I'm going to try and find a wall. See if there's a door here somewhere. You'll be OK here until I get back?"

"I'll be fine."

"I'll be back before you know it." He promised, standing and stepping away from the woman on the floor. After two steps there was a 'whomph' and a curse.

"Take it you've found the wall."

"Yeah." Jack traced the sides of the wall round; cautious of things on the floor that might trip him. "I think I've found a door." He muttered, waving has hand around in the space where the wall had disappeared from his touch. He circled the whole room, then again before returning to the center to Sam. "The walls are solid and feel like concrete or something similar. There's only one entrance and exit and the room is square. There doesn't seem to be anything on the floor or anywhere else in the room for that matter." He informed her. "What do you think?"

"If we've been kidnapped why is the door open? And why are we together and where is our captor?" She paused to think for a second. "If you can get out of the room, go. Find out where we are."

"I can't leave you here on your own."

"You can and you will. If there are guards you don't need me in your way and you were complaining about your knees the other day, you can't carry me. You know I'm right so go, before I change my mind." Jack hovered for a moment, not quite sure what to do. "Shoo." She told him with a grin.

"I'll be back soon," he promised and with that he dived out of the door, knowing that if he stayed a moment longer he'd change his mind. Sam listened to him walk hesitantly down the dark corridor outside the room and then pulled herself into a corner, feeling the emptiness of the room closing in on her. Sam smiled at herself. She was already regretting her decision and he wasn't out of earshot yet.

The hallways weren't as dark as the room they had awoken in. There seemed to be some sort of ambient light, not as much as he would have liked, but enough to see his way around with. Their room was at one end of a long corridor of rooms, all seemingly numbered or titled, although in a text Jack couldn't read. It wasn't until a few doors later that it occurred to him that the different language suggested that they might not be on earth. He grinned to himself, wondering when an alien language had become an everyday thing for him. But then other thoughts reached him. Who would have kidnapped them and taken them off-world? Who had the ability to do that? There was something to the equation he was missing.

He sped up as he walked to the other end of the corridor, beginning with the doors furthest from theirs, and then started investigating the other rooms. The furthest room had a door very similar to theirs and it slid silently open as theirs had. He stepped into the room, wondering if any other people were in these. The room seemed empty. In fact the first four rooms he checked were empty. Then he came across a room with one occupant. This occupant was dead, it was quickly obvious from the smell, but what disturbed him the most was that he recognised the species. It was a man from the Terrenell of PX2-155. A group of people who had been quite accepting of a trade agreement and were currently acting as their prime trade-post for trinium. He remembered seeing a woman with two children crying quietly one day when they had visited and, on inquiring as to the problem he had found that the woman had recently lost her husband to an illness which had only affected a few in the population. Her grief had stayed with him for a long time after the mission. 

Quenching thoughts of running back to his fiancé to check that she was still OK, he moved on to the next room.

In each of the rooms from there on, except one or two, there was one occupant, and in most cases the occupant was dead or dying. None seemed alive enough to register his presence. Almost all of the species had been encountered by SG1 at one point during the last two years, which Jack found strange. Most were not human, some were not humanoid but it was obvious most of them had been there a long time. Halfway back to the room he had awoken in, he encountered a room with no occupants. Instead of people inside there were rows and rows of shelves, each one labeled with what seemed to be the title of a room and a second line of script. He quickly found the shelves for their room. When he looked he was surprised to find several sets of gear. He rest of the team had not been in the room with them, nor had anyone else from earth, but it made sense that if this had been a mission, the rest of SG1 would come too. The only thing was that Sam had not been part of that team for over two years now. Who did the other packs belong to? The situation didn't make sense.

What was Sam doing on a mission to a hostile planet? What was Sam doing on a mission at all? She wasn't allowed on the base, let alone off-world. But something had happened, because here they were, off-world with full packs - he checked in one of the packs - with enough supplies to last them for a week. Everything was present for a normal SG1 mission. Using a flashlight he checked for the small palm-top Sam used to carry on missions with her when she was with SG1. It was there in the smallest pack, still active. There were even soil sample containers in the packs. Her chair wasn't anywhere to be seen, though. Something was very wrong here.

He stepped out of the room feeling slightly more relaxed wearing a flak jacket over the thin t-shirt he had woken in, a MP5, a zat and an off-world pack and carrying enough weaponry for Sam too. He headed back to the original room to give Sam the gun, knowing she would feel the security of the weapons as he did.

Before he entered the room he spotted one more door which was more interesting than the others. It was huge, towering way over his head and reminded him of the door to the 'gate room at the SGC. He had noticed that the closer he got to their end of the corridor, the more alive the people in the rooms tended to be. The thing that needed a door that big might cause a few problems if it was a conscious as they were. He leaned against the back of the door and slipped his hand across the door in the gesture he had used to open all of the other doors. The door slipped up a few inches and stopped. He grabbed a torch from his pack and laid down on the floor, shining it underneath the door. Looking through the glare of the bright light he searched the room for the two inhabitants. Seeing nothing moving he studied the room. There was no scene in this room, no unusual surroundings or other worlds, only a familiar shape in the middle of the room and against the back wall an even more familiar presence. A DHD, and a stargate. It was a 'gate room.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN: The dates are off from the episodes, I know. But you can pretend.

The General thought about the missing members of SG1 as he sat and listened to Daniel's weary explanation of the culture that he had discovered with SG8's expedition. He could still remember the day that the two remaining members of the team, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c had been deposited on the gate ramp missing all gear after three days radio silence from SG1 on PX6-666. He remembered the Colonel's joking comment about the planet's designation. Unfortunately he'd been correct, visiting the planet had lead to bad luck. The loss of two very valuable team members. Major Sam Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neill. MIA from February 19th 2001, 2 years ago. The rest of SG1, along with several other SG teams and the co-operation of many of the tech. crew had fought valiantly for a rescue mission and had even attempted to take over the base to try and rescue them. They'd succeeded as a matter of fact, but three days after they jumped through the gate to PX6-666 they were returned, missing all gear they had taken with them once again. All of the allies were contacted, but none of them could do anything or even give any information about the planet. Jacob Carter had tried going through the gate himself, much to the annoyance of the Tok'ra council, only to be deposited a few days later as Daniel and Teal'c had been.

Since the two soldiers had been declared MIA both the warrior and the scholar of SG1 were missing the vital enthusiasm that had made them so obviously part of the SGC's flagship team. Even Teal'c's minor facial expressions had been reduced to a permanent mask of calm disgust. They had both agreed to join specific SG teams as and when their expertise were needed in the field, but their lack of permanent fixture in any team was a quiet reminder that they hadn't given up on their friends.

The PA system interrupted the Doctor's presentation to announce an unidentified incoming traveller. The men rushed into the Command Centre of the SGC, curious as to who was knocking on the front door. As the General hurried down the stairs into the room Lieutenant Davis informed him of an incoming radio transmission even as the familiar voice came over the intercom.

"Sierra Golf Charlie, this is Dr. Carter and Colonel O'Neill requesting intel. Repeat Dr. Carter and Colonel O'Neill requesting intel. Come in Sierra Golf Charlie." There was a pause and a crackling of static over the radio. "Sierra Golf Charlie, this is Colonel..."

"We have you Major." The General interrupted, not quite sure why the Major was calling herself Dr. Carter.

"Thank God, sir. We're on an unknown planet but we have unrestricted access to a 'gate. We have no idea how we got here, sir. There's signs of other SGC personnel here, should we find them before we come back?"

"Negative Major. Everyone else is home safe. Send your signal through when you're ready and come on home. We've missed you back here."

"General, that's the second time you've..." Sam's voice was cut of be the Colonel's muffled shout in the background followed by gunfire. A Remote Signal was sent through moments later. Davis turned to the general.

"Their signal is wrong, sir."

"Of course it is lieutenant. They've been missing for the last two years, we've changed them since then. Now can you open the iris before our people land on it!?!" The annoyance in the General's voice was obvious and the Lieutenant decided to take the risk and explain later on. The iris grudgingly slid open, just moments before the two missing officers came rushing through the 'gate, shouting for the iris to be shut.

Several loud thumps against the solid titanium shield informed them of the successful interception of the large and angry alien captive that had chased them off the planet.

Seeing Sam in the Colonel's arms, the General mistook the situation and called for medical aid. Rushing into the gate room Daniel didn't hesitate in approaching his missing friends in front of the masses of weaponry aimed in their direction.

"Jack! Sam! God we missed you guys. What happened? Are you OK? Why were you missing for so long?"

"Daniel, calm down. How long have we been gone?" Sam asked, confused.

"Two years, almost exactly." The two shared a shocked glance, but any further questions were stemmed by a full medical team rushing into the gate room, lead by Janet Fraiser. Pre-empting the advancing medical attack Sam lifted her hands from around Jack's neck to wave the medics to a halt.

"Janet, I'm fine. Just a little confused." The Doctor paused her charge to look at the two, confused.

"Then why on earth is the Colonel carrying you?"

"I couldn't find the chair anywhere. It was the strangest thing, it wasn't with the rest of our stuff..." Jack responded.

"The chair...?" Sam and Jack shared a look of confusion at Janet's question.

"Yeah, you know, wheelchair. Annoying, bulky, awkward in a need it to get around way... Janet what's wrong?"

"Two years ago, the incident on PX8-512?" Jack prompted.

"You never visited PX8-512 Colonel. SGs' 5 and 8 opened a treaty with the village a few weeks after you two went missing. Dr. Jackson went with SG5, but you were missing, you weren't here." Sam and Jack shared another glance.

"Alternate Universe?"

"Possibly, it was too dark in that room to see anything, let alone a quantum mirror. But when would we have come in contact with one on Earth? I don't remember anything since the park." Interrupting the two, the General stepped in.

"Colonel, Major! Good to see you home safe." He exclaimed with a broad smile.

"I'm very sorry, sir, but I'm Doctor Carter. We think there might be alternate universes involved." The General sank visibly.

"Oh, I see. Well, wherever you're from, we need to make sure you are who you say you are. Dr., if you could handle that? Come to the briefing room when you're finished and we'll try and find out what's going on."

"Yes sir." Both responded automatically as they watched the General leave.

"Right. We need to get you both down to the infirmary. Um... Colonel, do you want the gurney or are you OK?" Jack looked down at Sam who was eyeing the trolley cautiously.

"Your call." He told her. "I know how you feel about those things." She lent into his shoulder for a minute then looked back up at him.

"You're not up to it, put me down."

"Are you sure?"

"You know it. Do it before I start screaming, that way I can get back off it as soon as possible." Jack frowned. "Just do it, Jack." He stepped forwards and laid her on the gurney gently, noticing how she tensed up as he stepped away again. Her hands gripped the sides so tightly her knuckles were white and her eyes were clenched shut. Stepping back up to the gurney he rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling as she relaxed slightly, and nodded to the nurses that they were ready to go.

On their way to the infirmary a nervous Daniel let his curiosity get the better of him.

"So, what is it about gurneys, Sam? Our Sam never had any problem."

"It's a recent thing, come from a few events that have happened in the last few years."

"The wonderful SG1 luck doesn't end when you leave SG1." Jack put in.

"Do you want to tell this? I have a feeling you can rationalise it better than I can. Plus I'm working on not throwing up at the moment." Sam offered him a weak grin.

"Well, there was that drug." Jack frowned, then grinned as Sam offered a long-winded name for said drug. "Yeah, that one. Well, seems she took so much of it when Jolinar was around she's now allergic to it. She was sat on this gurney in the hospital after the pre-op drug fest waiting for the operation and suddenly she starts seizing. Knocked the gurney all the way over - flattening Daniel, our Daniel, who was stood next to her - and gaining some beautiful bruises. She spent almost a week in hospital apologising to Daniel every five minutes because he was off duty for two weeks and someone had to take his place on the mission to... to PX6-233." There was a brief moment of pain in Jacks eyes as Sam reached up and squeezed his arm, offering open comfort for an obviously painful wound. Janet wondered for a moment what could have brought these two so close and allowed the Colonel to open up so much. Their Sam and Jack would never show such open emotion of any kind. It was obvious that the young Major Doctor had had an influence on the Colonel. It was interesting to see how well they interacted on a level separate to the military and it's rules and regulations. There was no doubt that the two were together and that the Colonel adored the woman. The smile they shared spoke volumes as Jack regained his composure and returned to his tale. "As it was, it was lucky he didn't go." His expression was filled with sadness, but he continued without a hitch. "After that incident there was another one a few months later when some kids who'd 'borrowed' another gurney came around a corner while she was on the way to the OR and knocked them all flying. Sam came out of that with a broken wrist and ankle. Of course with a broken wrist she was immobilised until it healed which she wasn't happy about."

"Would you be happy if your only way of getting around was trusting to these lot," she gestured at Jack and Daniel beside her, "for three months?"

"Well, anyway," Jack continued, offering her a grin, "Little miss capable here 'forgot' to tell us that the incidents had made her as nervous as hell. The next op. she had was one of the bizarre ones where they have you conscious all the way through and..."

"I had a panic attack on the way into theatre."

"We haven't been able to get her near the things since. Not until now, anyway." Janet was now about to burst with curiosity, having waited through their story to ask her question.

"What actually happened? Why do you need a wheelchair?" Sam and Jack shared another glance at the stream of questions from the doctor, curious this time. In a silent exchange Jack gave his go ahead.

"I was infected by a virus by the villagers on PX8-512. They had developed this drug which was debilitating to Gou'ald but wouldn't affect humans. They saw Teal'c and tried out this drug on us, which was fair enough. We were all human, it shouldn't have affected us. And it didn't at first. But when I got back the scans showed it was blowing out my nervous system. It was clever actually; it was activated by the protein marker so no normal human would be affected by it. It would have acted a lot faster on a Gou'ald, but they would have been able to heal its effects eventually. It would have killed me, but something else happened, something intervened. It just left me paraplegic instead. To this day we don't know what happened."

"How did your Sam and Jack go missing?" Sam asked as Janet and the nurses fussed around them in the infirmary.

"We went on a mission to PX6-666. The MALP showed an empty room with concrete looking walls. It looked quite a lot like our gate room, but emptied of everything. We don't know what happened when we were in there, but Teal'c and I woke up three days later back here missing all the stuff we'd taken with us and Sam and Jack. They never came back. We sent missions after them, Jacob tried to get in. Everyone woke up three days later having been sent back through the gate unconscious and missing all their gear. The MALP said you were coming from PX6-666, we assumed you were them. We were so... hopeful. It's going to be strange having you around again, but not... if you know what I mean."

"Oh, Daniel, I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to raise your hopes, of anyone here. I don't know how we got onto that planet. I don't even know how we got into this universe. Every theory I come up with, every viable theory has some obvious flaw."

"Try me."

"Ok then, the facts. At 1800 hours I met Jack at a local park, near to my house, at least a twenty minute drive from the base. A couple of minutes later we... I don't know how to explain it, we felt this extreme pain, like being zatted a couple of times in a row and still waking up again afterwards. Then we wake up in this room on... PX6-666." Sam frowned and turned to Jack, sat on the bed behind her.

"Do you remember PX6-666?"

"In our universe?"

"Yeah."

"Yes. I get the feeling we went there about the same time as this SG1, about two years ago. The same happened to us as to them, but we all came back through, three days later stripped of all gear. Do you remember? Janet spent ages with us afterwards because they were worried about something like Urgo happening again."

"Yes, I remember now. And if you sent other people in after your Sam and Jack it explains why there were so many pieces of kit in the storage room there."

"There was a storage room?"

"Yup, there were at least six sets of gear on the shelves which matched up with our room, they were all labeled." Jack answered.

"How do you think you got onto that planet?"

"I really don't know. I don't remember being attacked or anything, but we could have been shot, knocked out. Something must have happened, otherwise we couldn't have gotten off the planet and through a quantum mirror without us knowing about it."

"Do you think you could have had your memories wiped, and the last thing you remember is that day at the park?"

"That's a possibility. What do you make the time and date?"

"Just gone 7pm, February 16th." Sam frowned.

"OK, now this doesn't fit. Assuming out universes are following the same timeline... it's..."

"Tell me Sam, what doesn't fit?"

"2003, right?"

"That's right."

"How long ago did we get here?"

"Not more that half an hour ago, why?"

"I got home a little after 6pm, February 16th, earlier this evening. Say it was 6.10 when I met Jack in the park. 6.15 when we were hit by... whatever it was. We weren't wearing watches when we woke up, but I'd say Jack spent at least ten minutes looking around before he found the 'gate, an additional five minutes to get our message through and get the iris opened on this end. These are all guesses, but when in all that time did we have time to leave the planet and get through a quantum mirror? It just doesn't work. Even if we've only been here twenty minutes that's only ten minutes to spare. You couldn't get to the base in that time from my house." Daniel wandered over to the telephone in the corner of the infirmary and made a quick call to the control center.

"They say that you came through at exactly 6.31."

"You said there was a possibility that the times are different here to there?" Jack asked.

"That would make more sense, but still, why? Why bring us here? It would have had have been done purposefully, it wasn't an accident like when Daniel fell through the mirror the first time. And I haven't been off-world since the... accident. I haven't even been on the base."

"Why haven't you been on the base?"

"I'm a 'safety hazard'." You could almost hear the inverted commas around the word. "I can't use the emergency stairs."

"They took you out of the SGC for that!?! What about all the work you've done. How did they find a replacement?"

"Quite easily actually. Have you ever met a Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey?"

"Yes, I think so, but she was a cadet. About three, maybe four years ago. Our Sam took her on a mission, trying to persuade her to stop beating up other cadets or something. Chip on her shoulder the size of the U.S."

"That's her. She's loosing the chip slowly now, a couple of years with the Colonel will do wonders for anyone."

"Hey." Jack shouted across. Sam ignored him.

"She took my place on SG1 and we work closely together in labs out of the SGC."

"So there's no reason you'd be on base, or off-world? None what so ever?"

"Oh, wait, I have been off-world once. Thor had his transport device on some kind of one-touch setting. It was set to the old SG1, to pick us all up where ever we were in an emergency. I ended up laid out on the floor of Thor's ship trying to explain to him that I wasn't a part of SG1 any more. My neighbors told everyone I had been abducted by aliens. Which in a way I suppose I was, but I wasn't about to tell them that. Jack found the whole thing very funny."

"Could that have happened again?"

"Probably not, Thor changed the settings. But even if it had, why the universe jump, and why would we have had our memories wiped? None of this makes sense."

Sam turned again as Janet appeared with a set of blood test results.

"Well, your blood groups and finger prints match up. We won't get the DNA results for another couple of hours, until then I think it's safe to say you are who you say you are. We have a briefing to attend."


	4. Opps

You may have realised that this chapter was a mistake. I uploaded the wrong file so you got a chapter from my Mutant X fanfic, "pain". So sorry. Here's the real chapter 4.


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sam and Jack sat silent in shock. Daniel was already sat at the briefing table, Ferretti sat on one side of him - present as a member of SG2, the SGC's current flagship team in SG1's absence - but neither of these two men held their attention. It was Teal'c, who had just entered the room, that captivated them.

"Teal'c." Sam managed eventually.

"Doctor Carter, Colonel O'Neill. It is good to see you after such a time." Teal'c looked slightly bemused as Jack got out of his chair to embrace him, slapping his back heartily.

"Yeah, T. It's been too long."

Sam looked just about ready to cry, and cleared her throat.

"Hey. How are you?" She squeaked out.

"I am well." He examined the infirmary wheelchair she sat in. "Are you injured?"

"Long ago, I'm afraid." She replied. Seeing the other's strange looks, she couldn't help but smile. "I think we should explain. Our Teal'c was lost to the Gou'ald on a mission to PX6-233, about a year and a half ago." Her smile faltered. "Needless to say, it's very good to see you again Teal'c. We've missed you."

"As we have missed you here."

"Good evening everyone." Came the familiar drawl. Sam quelled the usual pang of annoyance that she couldn't rise as her ex-CO entered the room.

"Dr.?" Hammond inquired of Dr. Fraiser.

"Preliminary tests indicate they are who they say they are, sir. The more intensive tests will be back later this evening." Nodding his approval, Hammond sat, Jack, Janet and Ferretti joining him. Ferretti's obvious enthusiasm at seeing Jack and Sam had dulled slightly at finding that they were not truly his friends, and now he sat back in his chair, watching the whole exchange curiously.

"Colonel, Doctor. Would you care to explain how you got here?"

"Honestly sir, neither of us were anywhere where we could have been in contact with a quantum mirror. Sam and I have been talking through some of the options and we can't come up with anything firm. The only thing we can come up with is that perhaps we were abducted and purposefully brought into contact with a quantum mirror."

"Umm, Jack?" Daniel interrupted, waving a hand to get their attention.

"Daniel?" Jack prompted.

"I have another suggestion, something that's just occurred to me."

"Go on." General Hammond prompted when Daniel fell silent.

"What if..." He stopped a moment, as if to think. "What if the last two years that you've experienced were fake, created just for you? If you were our Sam and Jack, and you'd been on that planet all this time. You said there were other captives in the other rooms, what if they were part of it. I mean, it would be like the gamekeeper on P7J-989." He trailed off.

"Why?" Sam ventured eventually, her face pale.

"I don't know. Study, entertainment..."

"Daniel, why would anyone put us through what we've been through the last few years. And how could they do that. Even the gamekeeper couldn't fool us into thinking we were back home. It makes no sense." Jack stated firmly. No one missed the hand that came to rest on his ex-2IC's shoulder.

"But Jack, if you think about..."

"Daniel." Jack interrupted. "It makes no sense."

"I concur, DanielJackson." Teal'c added. "I do not believe the technology exists which would deceive us to this extent." Daniel glanced from one to the other, finally giving in under their combined glares.

"OK then. What do we do now."

It was later that night when Daniel, knowing Sam was talking to Janet in the infirmary, ventured into Jack's assigned VIP quarters. He was surprised to find Teal'c already there.

"OK, what was that?"

"What was what, Daniel?"

"Unless I was much mistaken you two were barracking me in that briefing." Jack rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Daniel, for someone who studies people, you can be pretty dense when it comes to emotion."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Two years ago Sam lost the use of her legs. For someone whose life revolves around the military you can see how this might be a bit of a blow for her." Daniel winced at the sarcasm in Jack's voice. "She wasn't allowed back into the SGC, because they thought she might be a safety risk for God's sake." He calmed for a minute, as though considering something. "She tried to commit suicide." He continued in a quieter voice. "Things were pretty messed up for her. Eventually she started coping with things, it got easier. She convinced the people that counted that she was still a capable scientist and rather than spending the rest of her career flying a desk she got herself a lab set up. It wasn't her job back, but it was something. There was never any question of anger against the villagers on PX8-512. I asked her once and she laughed at me, told me what a stupid question it was.

"Daniel, if what happened to her wasn't just some villagers protecting themselves against the Gou'ald, if it was all for the sake of... some kind of soap opera. It introduces a whole new level of pain for her. This could tear her apart Daniel, please say you can see that." Daniel stood and stared for a moment, Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"The experiences of these past years have changed you O'Neill." Teal'c observed.

"I watched the most stable person I know pull the trigger on herself. I held onto a gushing wound in her chest as I waited for an ambulance to arrive. Shit like that changes people." Daniel had paled.

"I had no idea... things could have... that... would have... I didn't think things would have gotten so bad." He managed eventually.

"You can't think of it like that. I just put a ring on the finger of the woman I love..." He grinned as the door opened. "Speak of the devil."

"And she shall appear unto you." Sam quipped back. She took in the tension in the small room. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, we've just been talking."

"You proposed!" Daniel squealed, finally taking in what Jack had said and the sudden change in mood. Jack grinned.

"Yup, meet Mrs. O'Neill to be."

"My congratulations." Teal'c offered a small grin as Daniel's full beam smile threatened to split his face.

Jack beckoned to Sam, seeing something more in her face. Smiling softly she shifted out of the wheelchair and onto the bed beside him. Wrapping his arms around her they clung to each other for a moment, taking simple solace in each other's company.

"Everything was perfect." She whispered into his shoulder. "Everything was fine, why did it have to stop there?" She laughed wryly. "Things were just starting to get good." Daniel and Teal'c looked on, feeling a little like voyeurs to the private moment. Their two friends fit together seamlessly; her head in the hollow of his shoulder, her arms across his chest, his around her back, one hand trailing her cheek, lending a little comfort.

"Janet wants to do some scans, to get the final say on your theory Daniel. She's going to have to put me under; she's going to do it tomorrow when we've all had some sleep." Jack nodded.

"Until tomorrow then."


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

AN: short chapter, apologies. Busy on other projects. Should be another chapter up soon. Homework permitting, tomorrow. If not, Wednesday. Enjoy!

A pale hand uncurled from beneath her chin and Jack took hold of it, moving closer so that he could stroke her cheek, offering a little reassurance as she slid into a drug-assisted unconsciousness.

"Daniel's right." Sam murmured, almost inaudibly.

"What makes you say that?" He asked.

"It all makes sense now. Remember... remember that day."

"Which day?"

"The one... the one we agreed not to talk about. So many things about that day..." And she slipped in to a sedative prompted sleep. The hand in his grasp relaxed and he released it, tucking it by her side, still stroking her cheek lightly.

"What did she say?" Janet asked as she came in to take Sam to do the scans. 

"That Daniel's right. I assume she means about his theory. The virtual reality thing."

"How does she know?"

"I'm not sure. She obviously thought of something. She always has the best clarity when she's just about to sleep, it's why she can never get to sleep in the labs. She'd just finish one thing, start to nod off and something else with pop into her head and she has to go and try it out. She sleeps with a pad next to her bed, so she can write it all down."

"You know that's probably what saved your life during the zatark incident." Jack looked up at this.

"We never talked about it, what happened?"

"She was half way to being sedated, just like back there, and it struck her and she started begging me to stop. It took three of us to hold her down long enough to administer a stimulant to combat the sedative. She wouldn't wait for it to work either. She was half was down the corridor when her body realised it was sleepy. She ended up leaning on me to keep her upright."

"She's always hated relying on others."

"I bet it's been hard on her for these last few years."

"You have no idea. And it's all been fake."

"How do you know?"

"I think it fitted to well when Daniel first said it. I can think of a hundred and one soaps that put their characters through the kind of things we've seen, the deaths and the tragedies. And if Sam's thought of something to prove it to herself then all it's going to need is those scans you're going for now to finish the deal and let us move on."

Sam blinked up drowsily at Jack, offering him a small smile.

"Hey sleepy, you up?" She blinked once more and murmured a non-committal reply. "Sam, wake up now gorgeous. I need to talk to you." She yawned and sat up.

"I'm awake."

"You were right, Daniel's theory seems to fit."

"What did Janet find."

"There's something mechanical attached to your spinal cord, it's inhibiting the transmission of impulses." Sam paled, but nodded quietly.

"So what do we do now?"

"I guess we deal with it. Did Janet say anything about this device?"

"No." Janet answered, walking up behind the two of them. "But she's about to." Janet handed Sam a scan of her lower back, a small solid white blob quite visible on her spine. "It is mechanical, not electronic. As far as we can tell it looks to just be putting pressure on your spinal cord. Truthfully it looks a little like a tiny G-clamp. But there are problems with that. I don't think we're going to be able to remove it without doing permanent damage, in fact I would say it would be impossible to remove without physically damaging your cord, but I would suggest you look for second opinions where ever possible. The only thing I would say is that there is also a possibility that it's already put too much pressure on and it might have damaged the cord. There would be no way of telling that without having the device out first." Janet sighed. "I'm sorry Sam."

"That's OK Janet. I don't know whether I'm glad or upset about this." She laughed wryly.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Well, now things can go back to normal. I'll have to sort some things out again, but at least I know how things should pan out and I know how to avoid certain confrontations and how I can expect to be treated. I've already done all the work, maybe it won't be so hard the second time." Jack nodded and hugged Sam tightly.

"We need to go and talk to General Hammond."


	7. Chapter 5

AN: So sorry about the wait, I have so much work on at the moment, it's difficult to keep up.

Chapter 5

Janet looked around as she walked into Sam's house, ushered by Jack. All of Sam's furniture had been shifted slightly, arranged now as it had been in the other reality, for optimal movement for Sam. Having lived in their house for the last year and a half the adjustments had been easy for Jack to make and he had already been to his old house to move one or two essentials into 'their' house.

General Hammond had quickly accepted the situation. Both houses had been left as they were, Teal'c now inhabiting Jack's home and the General explaining that they hadn't ever found the time, or anyone with security clearance high enough to clear out Sam's house. So it had been an easy enough transition for them both to move back into Sam's house. General Hammond had explained that no regulations had been broken with their relationship, as they had effectively been under an alien influence at the time. And, with the likely-hood being that Sam would still find herself subject to an honourable discharge after her situation had been evaluated, they were free to continue with their relationship.

To celebrate everyone had come around for a welcome home/house re-warming party. Janet presented Sam with a bottle of wine as she entered the kitchen.

"Hey! Is Cassie with you?"

"Yeah, she's in the other room. Are you sure you're OK with this?"

"Janet, we've been missing for two years, the least we can do is have you over for diner. All the time I've thought I've spent with Cass in the last two years, and I haven't seen her once. I need to know her real reactions to this. Have you told her anything, about why we were missing?"

"Everything."

"You're paranoid. Watch this, don't let it boil." She pointed to a pan on the stove and headed out into the living room. Stopping at the door she looked in to see Daniel an Jack sat in one corner playing chess with Cassie sat beside Jack trying to explain the game to Teal'c. She realised that the girl had grown a lot more than she had in the virtual reality. They had found, when they had looked closer, that the experiences that they had over the time spent in there matched perfectly with similar experiences one of the four had had at some point in their lives. The reality of the lives that they had been living had come from their own minds. The teenager had barely seemed to age beyond the age of thirteen, her age when they had left, because none of them knew any fourteen-year-olds or fifteen-year-olds. They couldn't provide the information needed.

Hoping to observe a while longer she sighed as she was spotted.

"Sam!" The youngster cried, running over. She skidded to a stop in front of her, not quite sure how to continue.

"Don't I get a hug?"

"Mum said I should be careful." She frowned. Sam grabbed hold of Cassie's hand and pulled her into a hug. Without drawing back Sam spoke into her ear.

"I want to talk to you, do you mind?" Cassie shook her head, mingling blond and brown hair on Sam's shoulder. She squealed as Sam spun her around, landing her on her lap and pushing both of them around the corner.

"Don't mind me." Sam called to Janet as they passed her. "I'm just abducting your daughter." Both of them were giggling uncontrollably as they entered the large dining room, away from everyone else. Sam set Cassie down and gestured for her to take a seat. Cassandra sat for a moment and just looked at Sam, it was only moments before the tears started falling. Gathering her back up into her arms, Sam hushed her, holding her tight.

"You were gone so long Sam. I thought you were dead."

"I'm not Cass, I'm right here, OK?"

"We all missed you so much." Sam just nodded, trying to keep control herself.

"I missed you too." Cassie looked up at this.

"But Mum said you had another version of me, a fake one."

"It wasn't you Cass. And I'm so sorry I couldn't realise that. But being here with you, the real you, I'm amazed it fooled us for that long. I wanted to talk to you, for lots of reasons but I wanted to know if you had any questions, because I'm sure Janet told you not to ask questions. Ask me anything, anything at all."

"What happened?"

"We're not sure, but we think that the aliens had some way of reading our minds and they made a virtual reality which matched what we remembered so we thought we were still at home. We think they might have been testing us, to see how we would react to certain situations."

"Oh." Cassandra nodded quietly, thinking it through. "Why was Mum so upset the other day? I mean, she came home and she wouldn't tell me what was up." Sam turned to the doorway where she knew Janet was listening in.

"Janet, did Jack talk to you the other day." Appearing in the door, Janet nodded quietly. "Can I tell her?"

"She doesn't need to know, Sam. It isn't something she needs to know." After a minute she continued. "Jack just told me something that made me worry about Sam, honey. I didn't mean to upset you."

Half an hour later, when the teenager had exhausted her supply of questions and Janet had asked one or two more, it was announced that the 'stuff in the pot' was beginning to boil.

After a decent meal everyone was sitting in the living room nursing full stomachs. Janet smiled at her friends. Following his instruction by Cassandra, Teal'c was playing Daniel at chess, Cass watching them closely. The three had become very close over the two years that Sam and Jack had been missing, the men often watching over the teen or taking her out on trips. Sitting on the other side of the room Sam and Jack sat together, looking like a perfect couple, Jack's head on Sam's shoulder, his arms around her waist, hers over her head and around his neck. Sam smiled as Jack whispered something in her ear, she leaned back to kiss his forehead in response and they turned back to the chess match.

Her friends were home, and they were here to stay.

TBC


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been a month since Jack and Sam's return to their true home and they were settled in once more into their house. Though many tests had been carried out nothing had been found to deactivate the machine still attached to Sam's spine and they were quickly loosing hope that anything could be done about it. Sam remained philosophical about it all, continuing to assure Janet that even if nothing could be done she would be happy simply to be home. Jack had rejoined SG1 and, under his request, Lieutenant Hailey had been interviewed and accepted for Sam's place on the reformed team.

To celebrate SG1's return from their first mission in two years another party had been arranged at Sam and Jack's house.

Jack finished off making coffee and carried it through into the living room. Looking around the room as he entered he saw no sign of Sam, but he thought nothing of it, placing the tray on the coffee table. When he was finished, Janet stood, frowning, and gestured to him to follow her outside.

"Is Sam OK?" She asked when they were out of the room.

"Why do you ask?"

"He hardly ate anything tonight and she winced when Cassie hugged her earlier. She disappeared a couple of minutes ago."

"She winced? Where did Cass lean on her?"

"I don't know, her shoulder maybe... I..." Jack was gone before she could finish.

He stood quietly outside the open bedroom door, watching Sam stretch full length across the floor. She pulled her arms over her head, reaching upwards, and Jack didn't miss the flash of pain that crossed her face.

"How bad is it?" He asked, lying down beside her so that they were face to face.

"It's getting worse."

"You need to go to Janet, Sam. She might be able to do something about this."

"I know what it is Jack, the machine is breaking down, it's not getting any maintenance."

"This has happened before, when were still in there, and it grounded you then. At least then you were able to get treatment for it - to have it repaired again. Think about the level of pain it could cause if you have it treated."

"Janet can't do anything about it." She said, continuing the exercises. She drew her hands over her head again, dropping them by her sides.

"She can give you pain killers."

"I don't need pain killers yet." She started drawing her upper body up and stretching out. Jack caught her as she dropped back with a moan.

"Really?"

"It was a line of treatment that you, or at least that Janet advised me to take on. One of the things they said was that I wouldn't be able to back out of it, if I stopped the treatment I would be in for a painful withdrawal. It was once every thirty days exactly. I would get backaches on the couple of days leading up to the next treatment, but nothing too bad. I've been thinking about it and I think this was their chance to check up on the machine, do some maintenance on it or something like that.

"About eight months ago, at least as far as we were concerned, SG1 were lost on a planet called Tenne. They were captured by a Gou'ald who thankfully knew nothing of their reputation. He took SG1 on to work as human servants. A couple of plans were put into action to rescue them but they all failed. The Gou'ald had a shielding system unlike any we had ever seen before. Eventually I get enough information from the SGC to put together plans for a machine that would be able to break through this shield, but it took us two months to put it together because the people in charge thought it was going to cost too much. They fed me the parts for this machine one piece at a time and I ended up missing two sessions of the treatment. When the SGC called me to tell me all of SG1 were home safe I was in the middle of a seizure. It took me three months to get back to work."

"You're missing out the fact you didn't eat or sleep for at least a month because you were in so much pain. The fact that you couldn't move without screaming for the first few weeks after your first session back." Jack added, a frown on his face from the memories.

"And you're saying that - if this was their way of cleaning out this mechanism or something - you're going to be in that state again if we can't find a way of treating this." They nodded in unison.

"When is the next treatment due?"

"Two weeks ago."


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(one month later)

Janet looked up at the cacophony of noise that erupted outside her office, she was already on her way out when a fraught nurse appeared at her door.

"She's woken again, doctor. That's only been two hours and we gave her enough sedative for another six. We can't possibly give her any more painkillers without risking damage." Janet nodded, following her back out into the infirmary.

In the pale sheets of the infirmary beds, Sam Carter almost disappeared. Her face was white, devoid of colour. Her hair lay limp and dank at her sides. Her breathing was shallow as she struggled to draw breath through the restriction that covered her chest and she thrashed in her bed, trying to find a position that didn't bring her pain, a fruitless task in her current state. Janet growled at the results reading off the chart. Nothing looked good. She only hoped Jack would soon finish his meeting with General Hammond, and come back with an affirmative answer, allowing them to take Sam through the gate back to the planet where they had spent the last two years and seek assistance from those that he done this to them.

It had been a plan that Janet had viciously opposed when Jack had first suggested it, Sam along with her when she had still been coherent enough to give her opinion. But now it seemed it was Sam's only hope. She could only hope she lasted long enough for the answer to come through.

Jack awoke in the infirmary, his mind woolly with sleep. Rolling onto one side he looked out over the adjacent beds, smiling as his team was revealed to him. Teal'c in the far bed seemed too large for the average-sized infirmary bed, as though he would topple it at any minute. Daniel, one bed closer to him, seemed to long, his feet brushing the foot-board as he slept. Lieutenant Hailey on the other hand, looked much too small. Delicate almost, though he'd never risk his life to tell her. He checked them all for signs of injury, gratified to see there was none, and then set his mind on remembering why they had ended up in the infirmary.

He shot up in bed when he remembered what their mission had been. The moment it had been authorised they had sent the message to the infirmary to have Sam ready for transport as soon as possible. The look on Janet's face had told them quite clearly that this was Sam's only hope, there was nothing more that she could do. They had taken the gurney to the gateroom, lifting her onto a stretcher for transport through the gate. Her hands had been shaking sporadically and Janet had warned that this was the lead up to a full-blown seizure which could kill her in her weakened state. The warning had got through, Jack's hands beginning to shake. The co-ordinates for PX6-666 had to be re-entered into the computer as they had been locked out after their previous mission, but it took only seconds and then they were ready to go...

What had happened? They had definitely gone through the gate, but beyond that he remembered nothing. And Sam wasn't in the room with them. Leaping out of the bed, and nearly falling as his feet touched the icy cold floor, Jack raced for Janet's office.

"Janet." He called as he spotted her in her chair. "Where's Sam?" She looked up, her face pale.

"She didn't follow you back, Jack. She's still out there." Jack fell into an empty chair.

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe they're treating her and it takes longer than the three days. Maybe they're going to keep her back again. I just don't know."

"Why her and not me or why not keep us all there while they help her?"

"Why just you two in the first place Jack? We don't know their motives in this and we can't predict what we don't know. I'm sorry, we're just going to have to wait."

Sam awoke, aware that something had changed but unsure what it was; her mind foggy with the effects of the drugs. As her mind cleared she found that the pain she was expecting to arrive shortly after the recession of the drug's affects was absent. She sat up cautiously, amazed to find that she was able to do so without the agonising pain she had come to associate with any movement.

Looking around herself she found that she was sat on a bed in the infirmary, which was pretty much empty. She could just about see Janet on the phone through the door of her office. Trying to listen in on what she was saying, Sam jumped as a low laugh sounded in the doorway. She turned to find Jack walking towards her bed.

"Jack!" She called, accepting his embrace.

"Nice to see you up." He replied.

"What happened?"

"We took you back, to ask for help. Daniel, Teal'c, Hailey and I all got thrown back three days later, like before. You didn't come back for another three days. I thought they were going to keep you again." He pulled her into another tight hug. "Don't do that again in a hurry, OK?"

"I'm all for that. But what happened. Did they fix the machine?"

"Not only that." Sam looked up as Janet appeared out of her office. "They removed it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's real anymore, and how can you tell? Do you know?


	10. Chapter 8

AN: A side-step from the story line, but this idea has been bugging me for a while now and just had to be written. 

Chapter 8

"What do you mean they removed it?" Sam gasped.

"I'm going to warn you now, before you get your hopes up, it looks like there's damage to the spinal cord itself that was probably caused by the machine. We're going to have to run a whole load of tests and the initial ones don't look too good, but you're in a much better place than where you were a couple of days ago. You don't have to worry about going through that ever again." Sam nodded, obviously dumbstruck.

"What happens now?" She asked eventually.

(6 months later)

Jack sighed as he dialled up the gate, glad to be finally going home. They were eight hours late for their scheduled return and he wondered absently why the SGC hadn't opened the gate to enquire at their lateness. Daniel had managed to touch something that transported them into a maze of sorts. Lieutenant Hailey had quickly offered a trick of technical wizardry which could help them locate the MALP and get back to the gate and a quick translation by Daniel told them that the maze itself was a competition of skill for Jaffa warriors, long deserted according to Teal'c. He still found it a little disconcerting to have Teal'c around again. He often found himself calling out to Captain Harson, the man who SG1 had taken on as his replacement in the virtual reality. His memories of Teal'c's death seemed so real sometimes, he wondered if they were really home. He wondered if they would ever be able to tell. Watching as Daniel sent the GDO code through, Jack thought back to his carefully planned speech for the night. He was hoping to propose to Sam tonight, for the second time.

She had worked hard over the last couple of months to get herself back on her feet, and with very little gain, the most being improved feeling through her hips. Not what she had hoped for, but she had been warned and it seemed she might never regain her feet. It was a prospect he knew from previous experience scared her terribly and he was hoping that perhaps this time around he could stop her before she drove herself too far.

The unavoidable honourable discharge had arrived and with the restrictions they had placed on the time she was allowed to spend on the base Sam had decided that she had been better off with the lab outside the SGC and had received permission to set up this base again. It had been up for over a month now and the SGC was already beginning to see the benefits.

Jack barely looked up as he walked through the stargate, deep in thought.

"SG1, what the hell is going on here?" Jack looked up at the curious demand from General Hammond.

"Sir?"

"You arrived back eight hours ago, on time for once! I was hoping we might finally have an uneventful mission to put on your records!"

"The SG1 who came back eight hours ago all left in the appropriate vehicles and appeared to head in the right directions. We have so far been unable to reach them." General Hammond explained to the cleared SG1. The real SG1.

"Did they all leave the base?" Jack asked. "Even Teal'c?"

"Yes, he put on the sign-out sheet that they would be meeting up later and that he would stay over at Dr. Jackson's. He isn't restricted to the base, the men had no reason to try and stop him."

"What do you think they're doing out there? I mean, if they wanted to do some damage, surely they'd be better off staying on base." Daniel pointed out. "They would have had plenty of time to do what ever they needed in the time it took us to get out of that maze they left us in."

"How much do you think they know about us?" Hailey asked. "Obviously enough to fool Doctor Frasier and everyone else here. They even knew which cars were ours. This is all too spooky."

"Do you think they would have gone to our homes?" Daniel asked, watching as Jack paled. "Jack, are you OK?" Jack ignored Daniel, turning on the General.

"Which house did you try? Because you know I'm living with Sam, right? And even if I wasn't there she'd pick up, she was home today. Did Sam pick up?" Jack was almost in full fledged frenzy when he finally paused to allow the General time to speak.

"We got her machine, son. But she could be out somewhere, she could have gone to the labs anyway, she could be anywhere. You need to calm down."

"I have to go. To find out." It was a statement, not a request."

"Colonel. We don't even know if your double knows where Dr. Carter lives. He could be anywhere. We don't even know if they mean us harm. We can't assume she's in trouble."

"General, I think the Colonel's right. They know an awful lot about us and we can't be sure they don't mean us harm. I'd like to go home, Sir, to check on Jamie." Hailey's fiancée was a quiet man who had met the rest of SG1 one night in what had started as a barbecue and ended with the men of SG1 giving the poor man the third degree. Once satisfied that he was 'suitable' the couple were given their blessings and they had been good friends ever since.

Jack released a breath he didn't know he had been holding as he saw Sam's empty driveway. There was no sign of his truck and the house looked undisturbed. He was beginning to wonder if he'd dragged the troops out for no reason. There were three teams leaving the SGC, one visiting each home, each with a medical personnel just in case. Janet had chosen to accompany the Colonel to Sam's house and two others were accompanying Daniel and Teal'c to Daniel's apartment and Jenny to hers. All were hoping to apprehend the doubles before they got too far.

With a cautious nod to the team in the truck they swarmed out and surrounded the house. Quietly he stepped through the door, praying he would find Sam safe inside.

The house was dark as Jack entered it, the only light being that from the TV, blaring the benefits of younger looking skin to the house. Walking into the living room Jack turned off the TV and turned on a light. Jack scanned the room, wondering if Sam had gone to bed and forgotten to turn off the TV. It was a little early, but she'd been working hard recently, he'd been waiting for it to catch up with her. Maybe the other Jack hadn't been here at all.

It was a small thing that caught his attention while he stood there musing. Often while watching the TV she would sit on the sofa, relaxing in the more comfortable seat. There, on the chair arm, where her head would rest, there was a mark. Blood.

He heard as Janet came up behind him and said nothing, feeling like his voice had been strangled out of him. She glanced down, seeing what he had seen.

"It could be anything. She could have cut herself, maybe she went to the doctor's to get stitches or something..." Jack walked away as Janet trailed off, finally seeing the whole picture. Sam's wheelchair was sat untouched beside the sofa. Sam had gone no-where on her own. She was in trouble.

The rooms were dark in Sam's basement and Jack almost turned away, but there was something that held him there. Something that made him turn to Janet as she appeared behind him once again.

"She's down there. I know she is." He flicked the light switch, when nothing happened he flicked it again. Growling, he hit the offending button. "Guess we go in with flashlights." When four rooms, empty save for the usual clutter of unused basement rooms, were revealed in the flashlight's glare Jack was ready to resign himself to the idea that Sam might have been taken out of the house. She could be anywhere. He grasped the last door handle, praying hard.

"Stay the fuck away! Don't come in, I'm armed." Sam's voice rang our. Jack grabbed Janet's arm as she made to step past him into the room despite Sam's warning.

"A soldier tells you she's armed, Doc. and you do exactly what she tells you. Even an ex-soldier, understood?" At a tense nod, Jack continued.

"Sam? It's Jack, and Janet. We just want to know if you're OK. Can we come in?" Sam laughed hoarsely.

"The hell you can. Having Janet with you won't help. She's either one of you or you're lying."

"Sam? Sam, honey, it's Janet. The SG1 that came home on time weren't the real SG1. We know that now because another SG1 came through a couple of hours ago. This is the real Jack, Sam. We're here to try and catch the fakes. We're worried about you Sam, now more than ever because you won't let us in." There was a moment of silence and then a whisper.

"Janet can come in, Jack stay out there." Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Janet shot Jack a reassuring look and began to open the door.

"I'm coming in, OK Sam?" At the affirmative Janet stepped into the room, stopping Jack as he tried to follow her. "Sam? Can I turn the light on?"

"If you can find the switch." A fluorescent light blinked a few times and solidified. The room was filled, as the others, with lots of clutter and junk. One wall though, had been cleared, a messy sweep of the hand leaving many of the boxes that had been stacked there on their sides or tipping their contents across the room.

"Janet?" Sam croaked, blinking in the bright lights.

"It's me, Sam." Janet was quickly at her friend's side, gently checking over all of her visible injuries and searching for the unseen ones, quietly cataloguing everything to herself. "Small abrasion to the head, possible concussion; minor cut to the chin; cuts on the back and the legs -" She'd been dragged down the stairs, the bastard. "- hands..." And there she faltered. It looked like every bone in her hands had been broken. She was bleeding heavily from a compound fracture in her wrist and it was obvious every movement caused her pain. The intention of the attacker was clear. Without the use of her hands Sam was effectively immobilised completely. She couldn't even pick up the telephone if she could get to it, which was unlikely since it was up a flight of stairs in the main house. Sam wouldn't have been missed until she didn't turn up at the labs on Monday. Two whole days away.

"Colonel, could you give me a hand in here?"

"NO." Janet turned back to Sam to find her shaking her head. "Janet, please, anyone but Jack." Janet was confused for a moment but then everything became clear. The only thing she'd overlooked. Sam had been attacked by JACK. The only person she would trust completely and implicitly, no questions asked. She looked up to see Jack enter the room and she saw the look of pure fury which crossed his face as he saw what his couterpart had done to Sam.

"Colonel, I need you to get one of the marines for me, someone strong enough to carry Sam without jogging her."

"I can..."

"Colonel." She interrupted. "You heard what I said." She could see Sam's hands shaking and know that movement alone would be agony for her. She moved to block Jack from Sam, begging him to understand. Nodding he moved away.


	11. Chapter 9

AN: Medically implausible, I know. But then I'm not a med. student, I'm a fic writer!

Chapter 9

Jack stood in the doorway, his back to the door. He'd been stood there for several minutes now, but he didn't notice the cramp in his legs. He hadn't seen the nurses and doctors who had walked past him with curiosity on their faces. All he could see was Sam's face. The pure terror that had shown on her face as he had walked into that hospital room. Her hands had been heavily bandaged; her fingers all splinted and wrapped. There had been a row of butterfly stitches on her chin. But all he could see was her struggling to get away from him. Crying out as she tried to use her damaged hands to escape him.

"Colonel?" Janet was there. Concerned.

"Someone needs to tell Sam that we caught the fake SG1." He muttered, and then he was gone. Not running, but long military strides. Taking him away from her face, her fear.

Sam opened her eyes groggily. The first thing she registered was pain down the side of her leg; bruised she was sure, if not more; but this was quickly overruled by the agony in her hands. Her vision clearing and the hiss in her ears fading she breathed deeply, holding as still as possible to try and ease it.

"Janet?" She asked as the figure in front of her clarified.

"Samantha Carter. Would you mind telling me exactly what you thought you were doing unconscious on the floor?" Sam shook her head, wincing at the pain of the additional movement.

"I don't remember." She drew in a gasped breath as Janet undid one of the wrappings revealing the swollen digit underneath.

"Hold still. I wouldn't have to do this if it wasn't for your break for freedom. These bandages have slipped and they're going to heal badly if I don't fix them." She looked up as Sam went silent, looking at the door. "Sam?"

"Jack." She murmured. "Janet, Jack was here. It was the other one, I'm sure of it. He came in with a look on his face... I was trying to get to the call button. I must have fallen off the bed and knocked myself out."

"I think it's more likely the pain knocked you out. You pulled your IV out as well. But it wasn't the other Jack. It was the real one. He called by earlier to tell you that the fake SG1 had been arrested. I got a call a couple of minutes later confirming the stand down on the guards."

"But..."

"He's angry at what the other him did to you, Sam. And he's angry with himself that he didn't get back in time to stop him. I'm not surprised he came in with a look of thunder on his face. He left looking a little shell-shocked."

"God, Janet. What have I done?" Sam resisted the temptation to rub at her forehead with her hand. "You have to go after him, Janet. You have to explain. He's going to disappear off and I can't chase after him at the moment."

"Right now, Sam, I'm going to treat your hands. Once I've dealt with you THEN I'll chase after the heartsick lover, but he is of secondary importance at the moment. I'm going to have to bind your ankle as well, it's started swelling."

"I know, it aches..." Sam stopped, realisation dawning. "Janet, my ankle aches."

Jack looked around him. The house looked somehow empty without his things in it. It hadn't taken him long to pack up his belongings from Sam's house and pack them into his car. He would go and live with Teal'c in his old house for a while. Until things settled down he promised himself. He had been forced to sit down and take deep breaths when his hands had strayed across the small velvet box in his coat pocket. He'd forgotten that he'd left it there. Taking one last look around he left the carefully written note on the side and walked out to his car. The drive to his house was a short one especially driving, as he was, a few marks over the speed limit. He sat silent in his car for a moment, the radio off. What was he doing? Was he leaving Sam? No, he loved Sam he could never leave her. He was just giving her the space she needed to get over a traumatic event. A traumatic event where... effectively he had attacked her. Really attacked her, and hurt her badly. Would she still want to even see him? Would she react like that every time she saw him? If so, she wasn't likely to want to still marry him. He cursed and hit the steering wheel, enjoying the pain that shot through his hand. Why was their relationship cursed? Every time they got to a point where they could be happy something else happened.


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Both Janet and Daniel were mothering her, and Sam was just about sick of it. She had hoped that getting back to her own house would give her a chance to talk to Jack, only to find out that Jack had left and taken most of his stuff with him back to his old house. Blaming tears on the painkillers she had moved on, praying that he would see sense and come over to talk to her. She was still unable to push her own chair very far with her hands still very painful and not seeming to let up very often. As such she was confined to the house and couldn't go and seek Jack out herself. SG1 were on down time and with no response at his house they had no way of knowing where Colonel O'Neill was. She just had to wait.

__

The gun was comfortable in her hand, a cold presence. It was a familiar shape and reminded her of battles fought, won or lost, lives taken, the pain of the bullet, the recoil in her hand. The sight of blood... the sight of blood.

There was no one to fight her, no alien attacker, no Gou'ald or Jaffa. She was alone.

She flicked the barrel open with practised ease, checking each chamber. A single bullet.

She slid the barrel to, feeling the solid click as it fell into place. She gently eased the safety off and turned the gun towards herself, aiming carefully, not wanting to miss with her only shot. She spent a moment adjusting her grip in the unusual position. It was always the first lesson you were taught when handling guns. The weapon is never pointed towards yourself. The weapon is never pointed towards yourself.

She tensed her finger on the trigger, testing her grip as if it were something she might have to report on in the future. Finally she was ready, pulling down gently and smoothly on the trigger, until...

Her door was unlocked, which was strange because there had been break-ins recently and she'd made a point of locking up each night. He stepped through the door cautiously, aware that he was intruding. The noise he heard drove all such thoughts from his mind.

He'd heard a multitude of gunshots in his life, but none had ever affected him like this one.

The blood was the first thing he was, it was deep and red, flowing freely, gathering in cracks in the lino, marking out the patterning.

Then he saw her, her hands laying loosely by her sides, a gun in one. He fell to his knees at her side, a towel appearing in his hands doing nothing to stop the flow of blood which was still pooling around him.

Sam and Jack both awoke suddenly, looking to each other only to find the other half of the bed empty. This time there was nothing either of them could find to stop the flow of tears.

Teal'c appeared, outlined in Jack's door. "O'Neill, are you OK?"

Daniel appeared, outlined in Sam's door. "Sam, are you OK?"

Together they had only one answer. "No."

Jack bit his lip as he struggled to contain the stream of silent tears that flooded down his face. Teal'c remained stoic as he stood, and Jack was thankful that it was Teal'c with him rather than Daniel. Daniel would press for information until he was more unwilling than ever to give it. Teal'c he could trust to wait until he was ready to talk. Christ he needed to talk.

Daniel was at her side in a moment, wrapping her in his arms.

"Sam, what is it? Talk to me."

"I just had a nightmare, Daniel, go back to bed."

"What was your nightmare about?"

"I really don't want to talk about it, Daniel."

"Please Sam, I just want to know what's upsetting you so much."

"My fiancée has disappeared off the face of the earth and it's probably my fault Daniel. All I want to do is talk to him."

"If I took you over there, and risk Janet's wrath, do you think he'd talk to you if he's home?"

"I don't know Daniel. But it's worth a try."

"OK, get dressed and we'll see what we can do."

"It wasn't long after she was released. We'd made sure her house was all ready for her and everything and she got really upset. Janet said it was all the drugs she was being given, throwing her out of whack emotionally. We weren't so sure. SG1 were called out on a mission and Janet was busy so we left her on her own for that day. We'd been mothering her for the last week, and she said she'd be fine. We all figured she'd need some time alone anyway, she was always one to handle her emotions when she was alone. She found it harder to deal with when she had an audience. We never expected... I mean, it was suggested, by the psychologist... But it was Carter, she didn't do things like that.

"Janet wasn't able to get out of work that evening so she asked me to go and check on her. She would have asked Daniel, but he'd... I don't remember, he'd twisted his ankle or something like that. Anyway, when I got there she'd already..." He drifted for a moment in the memory before bringing himself back. "Shot herself." He choked out. "And she was laid there... And I remember sitting there trying to stop the bleeding, and then I was at the hospital. And I don't remember getting there at all, it's not even like it was a blank, I was there one minute and at the hospital the next, with some Doctor telling me that the gun had misfired, done her some damage, but not killed her. And she was so angry with me, for saving her. She wanted to die and she hated me because I'd saved her life. We had this huge argument in the hospital and we must have resolved something because I moved in with her the day she got back out of hospital and a year and a half after that I proposed. We haven't lived in separate houses since then, Teal'c. Not until now."

"I believe this situation can be rectified."

"How Teal'c. I've messed this up so badly. I should never had left..."

"Dr. Carter is here."

"What?"


	13. Chapter 11

AN: The dress belongs to fluffybunnies and Sarah. They designed it. If you're an expert dress-maker and you decide to make it and sell it for millions, at least pass on a picture of it!

Chapter 11

(6 months later)

He shuffled his feet again, returning Daniel's irritated glare. He was about to mutter some wisecrack to cover his knee knocking nervousness when the music started. He 'girls' - including Daniel - had taken great measures to make sure he hadn't seen the dress or the woman in the last twenty-four hours. In fact he hadn't seen the dress at all. Janet had given him a list of colours he, Daniel and Jacob could and couldn't wear to match the bride. They had ended up in cream suits that Janet had smiled at approvingly. They were a lot more comfortable than the dress blues that the rest of the church, save for one or two, seemed to be wearing. He took a deep breath as the doors creaked open a little more and the music lifted to the ceiling of the small, tightly packed church.

His jaw dropped and the breath he was holding escaped him in a 'wow' as his bride stepped around the corner on her father's arm. He had to resist the urge to rub his eyes as he realised that she was indeed walking down the isle towards him. A ripple of surprise and awe spread through the crowd.

The dress she wore was a creamy-white that matched their suits perfectly. A wide band spread across her shoulders, delicately decorated with small blue embroidered flowers. From this the dress was a tight embroidered corset to her waist and the material dropped gently to the floor from there. It extended out behind her to where it was picked up by Janet and Sarah, Sam's physiotherapist, and Cassie at the back.

Jack smiled widely at Sam and a quaking smile was returned. This had been planned, it was obvious. Her footsteps were slow and measures, practised and timed to the music. She was leaning heavily on her father, as was evidenced by her pale knuckles, but her steps were sure.

She reached his side and turned to him, smiling widely now, and released her father's arm. Jack's eyes questioned her as she wavered slightly, standing alone, but her smile reassured him.

Minutes later they kissed as husband and wife. Smiling even wider, if it were possible, she leant her head on his shoulder, whispering in his ear, with a laugh.

"If I don't sit down soon I'm going to fall." Laughing as well, he lifted her from the floor, gaining laughs from all watching. Sarah appeared with the chair, but Jack waved her away and carried the love of his life back down the isle to the waiting car.

Sam sat at the entrance to the lower level lift, cursing her luck. Only her wedding could end in a foothold situation at the base. They hadn't even got to the reception when the call had come for Jack. With no time to spare they had left Sam on the changeover level with a gun, a bittersweet kiss and heartfelt apology from Jack before he jumped into the lift carriage his only goodbye. Sam had accepted several more apologies from other SGC members of staff called back from her party as they piled into the lift and made their way down to the crisis below. She wished she was able to make a call to apologise to those left without their hosts but knew all communication with the outside would be locked down during the foothold situation. Silently she sat and waited, and cursed.

The gun was up and aimed before the lift doors even began to open, she was prepared for whatever came through. When Janet was revealed, the gun dropped immediately, but she was no less tense. They'd met aliens able to disguise themselves as friends before. Only when Janet stepped out of the car with her hands clear and in front of her did she relax marginally.

"Sam, the foothold situation has been aborted. But something went wrong." Sam could feel the blood drain out of her face. "Jack went after them... he's dead."

Daniel Jackson thought of the year that had passed since Sam and Jack had returned through the stargate to PX6 666. They had remained on the planet a second time as the rest of the team once again was returned to Earth unharmed. The team had finally settled into a pattern, the time healing the wounds that the second loss of their team mates had caused. Daniel no longer left Earth to seek out new life or old and instead allowed time to examine all material brought back to Earth from the many voyages made by the other teams. Teal'c's prim'ta had reached maturity and a replacement had been found just in time to save him, but after a short term of recovery he returned to join SG2 after they lost one of their team. The SGC had mourned the passing of SG1 and no team had replaced them as a sign of respect.

The General had eventually begun to feel his age and had retired, suggesting one of his closest friends, General Rogers, for the post. The new General was a good soul who had helped the SGC through many problems, even though there was some anonymity in that ranks due to the loss of the General who had lead them for so many years. He had settled in well and quickly understood the SG1' situation.

Time had not stopped with the loss of half of the flagship team, but Daniel found himself suddenly edgy and nervous. Something was going to happen and he knew it. He headed to the control room, hoping to find some hint of what was making him so edgy.

Jack's eyes were blurry as he woke, but he knew the smells and sounds of the SGC infirmary all too well. He flinched as a bright light invaded his mind.

"Colonel?"

"Hey, Doc." He managed.

"Welcome home, again. Do you know where Sam is?"


	14. Chapter 12

AN: Oooh, the Temptation to quote Buffy. You'll see what I mean.

Chapter 12

Two figures walked the halls that the two members of SG1 had escaped through almost 4 years ago, looking quietly into each of the empty and cleaned rooms that they would be leaving for the next researchers. A quiet smile passed between the two as they both thought of that time all of those years ago when a power failure had shut down the life-programs surrounding their many subjects. They had lost many of the fascinating species in the power cut, the surge of energy ending their existence in that moment. But those that had survived, and those who had escaped had shown the observers much about the species that could not be learned in a familiar environment. The choices between the loved one and the chance of escape was a hard one for any of the captives to make but all had made it in that moment, some showing a survival instinct that surprised the scientists, others showing a love which did the same.

They came to the final door in the corridor and shared a smile. This pair had been special. Both of the figures that stood in front of the door had been present when SG1 had first visited their planet. The three Earth-born humans and their Jaffa guard where remembered in the nightmares of the two Gou'ald held captive in one of the twenty life-programs already running. It had not taken the captors long to acknowledge the partnership between the leader and the scientist, his protectiveness over her was quickly noticed as he tried to defend her against the unknown foe. It had not been hard to incorporate them into the life-program and they had been able to initiate the challenges quickly. They had found it easy to take knowledge from all of the four's memories to make sure the two new additions to the project were not made aware of the research going on into their races unique interactions.

The neuro-scientist working with the project had been amazed at the simple formations of the human brain, as he always was when a human subject was incorporated into the project. The solid-holo engineer had much enjoyed the pair's addition because the stargate – as they called it – allowed them to travel and interact with the other subjects in other life programs. It had been a challenge that the engineer had always wanted to take on. They were quickly voted the team's favourite pair, even though they greatly stretched the resources of the project. Their antics were frequently seen talked about in news and even documentaries were written on the difficult couple. When the subjects were lost, some people talked about starting again, but it had been decided that this could not be. Too many ethical concerns had been raised to allow a whole new project.

The soft whirr of a machine told the two figures of the continuing life-program that ran within. A gesture allowed the door to slide open and they entered, looking out onto a grassy hill. They walked in silence to the crest of the hill where they found a young woman in a wheelchair. She looked silently down at a simple stone arch and a small smile graced her features. Carved into the stone in delicate script were the words Colonel Jack O'Neill, We all owe him our lives, some of us owe him more than that. His love will go on forever.' The woman turned from the grave and looked towards the two who were invisible to her and all those around her.

"I'm ready to go home now." She told the air.

"We are prepared." The air told her.

"I just have one more question."

"We will attempt to answer it."

"Did he ever really die?"

Jack looked up from his daydream as the gate started to engage, scattering people in white coats from the gateroom. There was no one off world, there shouldn't be anyone dialling in.

After two failed attempts to rejoin Sam on PX6 666, he had waited for her to follow him home and had lost hope long ago that one day she might turn up on the SGC's doorstep. Having joined Teal'c on SG2 as a leader shortly after the death of Major Ferreti, he was just about ready to move on and believe that he might never see his wife again.

He looked up as General Rogers entered the Control room, nodding his acknowledgement of his presence. Together they turned to watch the spinning cycle of the ring that ruled their existence, watching each chevron as they locked into place. As the gate engaged the General demanded a ICD code and the young tech. gasped as one appeared on his console.

"It's SG1's code, sir. Permission to open the iris." Jack was out of the room before the General could give the order. Stood at the end of the ramp, surrounded by gun-toting marines, he watched and waited, silently praying to any god who might be able to influence events. When a small figure in a wheelchair appeared, silhouetted in the light of the open wormhole, he found himself frozen to the spot, unable to move at all. Suddenly he was released and running, lifting her up into his arms and sinking to the ground, wrapped in each other's presence. When he looked up he found her crying.

"What's wrong Sam?"

"They told me you were dead Jack. God, I didn't know what to do."

"I'm safe Sam, I'm here. I tried to come back for you, I tried so hard, but they wouldn't let me bring you home."

"I tried to find you. I wanted to bring your body home, at least to have you there, somewhere nearby. I always knew you were out there somewhere."

Janet sobbed quietly into Sam's shoulder. Not sure if she was laughing or crying.

"You have to stop doing this to us Sam."

"I'm sorry Janet." Wiping her eyes, Janet composed herself.

"Three years with a mourning Jack is not something I want to relive." She joked.

"Three years without Jack is not something I intend to do ever again." Sam added. Jack, still holding tightly on to her hand, laid a gentle kiss on the palm. I paused, looking down on her delicate hand for a moment. There were scars there, even after three and a half years. Some delicate, fading away; some still thick and angry, set to stay. Sat on the medical bed, alone for a moment Sam examined Jack. His features had changed, she decided. Rubbing a line across his forehead she tried to smooth the frown that resided there. He smiled and it disappeared, prompting a smile back.

"I came out after you." She whispered. "I rejoined the airforce, passed all the fitness tests for you. I set up a team that went after the people that got left behind."

"Why are you back in the wheelchair?"

"A mission went wrong, I wasn't really fit enough. I fell and made it worse. It's been a long time Jack. I didn't think I could live without you, but I did it."

"Thank you."

"And now we're home."

"Yeah. We're home."

"Good."

ELHEA

THE END


End file.
